An American romantic adventure; A story set in the East Indies from 1875 about an ongoing bitter rivalry between two men of the sea: the owner of the Dutch shipping company Batjak Limited and the captain of one of its ships. Based on the best-selling novel of its day, this is a film that is creditable for its dynamic performance by John Wayne as the hard-drinking, unbalanced ship captain driven by love and hatred. Gail Russell plays her part delicately as the love interest, soft but provocative. Luther Adler gives a strong performance as the foil, who is elaborate and tricky. The production values are satisfactory, with crisp photography of the locations and scenes of underwater diving, but some scenes have lo-fi special effects. The picaresque story, while heart-rending and haunting, rambles along its long narrative time and may hinder a viewer's full immersion in the interest and suspense.
Review of Wake of the Red Witch
